Sunday 22 December 2013

Suspension of 'The Heat' not linked to Prime Minister story, says Home Ministry

Suspension of 'The Heat' not linked to Prime Minister story, says Home MInistry

The Home Ministry has denied that it recent suspended weekly magazine The Heat because of a story involving Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

“This decision (suspension) was not linked to The Heat’s recent story regarding the Prime Minister, and any accusations to the contrary are without merit,” according to a statement by the ministry spokesperson yesterday.

The Ministry said that The Heat had violated provisions in its publication permit, specifically the requirement to “inform the Home Ministry of any change of ownership”, and also a provision which specifies that the permit was only applicable for “a weekly business magazine.”

The Ministry also had issued two show cause letters to The Heat’s publisher, but did not receive a reply, indicating that the suspension was due to the lack of response.

“The (show cause) letter provides for an official right of response, but such a response was not received. A second show cause letter was sent, again without official response. The Heat has been suspended until an official response is received,” said the spokesperson.

On Thursday, The Heat was notified of its suspension by the Home Ministry.

The Heat is published by HCK Media Group which also behind business publication Focus Malaysia and the online portal theantdaily.com.

Astro Awani 

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